Kajol: Good thing that people are at least talking about rape now

Mumbai: Just before the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 (CAA) took over social media, the platform was buzzing with news reports of brutal rape and murder of young women in several parts of the country, including Hyderabad and Unnao.

Popular Bollywood actress Kajol feels it is a good thing that we have at least started talking about rape openly and that such cases are at least being reported to the police, which mostly never happened before.

"I think there is a lot being reported right now. There are a lot of talking and chatter about it right now. This chatter is good because I am hoping it will change the mindset of the entire country and society. It's not new. It's been happening from time immemorial but we are talking about it today and only now we have cases being reported. That's the good thing," Kajol told IANS.

"It's good that people are talking about it. Conversations and debates are happening and, yes, this mindset is being brought to light. Our society has been patriarchal for ages, so we have only recently started talking about it openly. We are shining a big, strong spotlight on it and, hopefully, that will burn away some of the debate around it, some of the hard angles around it. Somewhere down the line (it will) burn our ideas also, of what it means to be a woman and what it means to be a man," the 45-year-old actress added.

The Bollywood star feels there is an important change in our society as far as rape and sexual harassment victims go. Girls who are victims now mostly get support from their parents. "It's strange that parents earlier were hesitant to even bring such incidents out in the public, thinking about their daughter's future and the family's reputation. At least, now we have started talking about it. We have realised now that the shame does not lie with the victim, it lies with the perpetrator," she said.

On the work front, Kajol will next be seen alongside hubby Ajay Devgn in "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior". She plays Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare's wife Savitribai.

"There isn't much information about Savitribai Malusare. There isn't much information about Tanaji in history books either, but about Savitri, there is absolutely nothing. I didn't know about her till we decided to do this film, and Ajay approached me to play the character. So, we have taken a bit of cinematic liberty to say what she probably would have said at that point in time. She is a very strong woman. She is a wife, a mother, Tanaji's biggest support and a loyalist of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, just like her husband," said Kajol.

Recently, a court case was filed against the historical drama at Delhi High Court, alleging that the makers had not shown the ‘true lineage' of the Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare. When quizzed on the same, Kajol commented: "I think when we make films, you have to give us some creative liberty. At the same time, we have made this film keeping a lot of things in mind, and keeping a lot of sensibilities in mind. You can't satisfy everybody all the time. Watch the film and then judge what we have done."

Directed by Om Raut, "Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior" hits theatres on January 10. The film stars Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Saif Ali Khan, Sharad Kelkar and Luke Kenny in significant roles.